Page 19 of Lance

“Minnie,” my brother says, marching over with a scowl on his face. “Are you doingshots?”

“Um,yeah?”

He glares down at me. “Aren’t you a little young forthat?”

Oh, for God’ssake.

“I’m twenty-two, James. Are you going to tell me that you didn’t drink when you were twenty-two? And keep in mind that I’ve been backstage at some of your shows before youanswer.”

“Well, that’sdifferent.”

Something is bubbling up inside me, some long-held anger and frustration. “Why is itdifferent?”

I hear Nia’s sharp intake of breath and I know that she can sense the change in my voice. My brother is not so adept. “Because you’re…you’reyou,Minn.”

I take a step back. Not because my feelings are hurt—because I’m pretty sure I’m about to slap him and I’d like to avoid thescene.

“And what does thatmean?”

“Minnie, comeon—”

“Don’t call methat!”

A few people in our general vicinity turn to look at the sound of my sudden, high-pitched shout. It’s James’s turn to take a step back, his expression clearly shocked. I don’t think I’ve ever screamed at him, not even when we were kids. Minnie was the quiet one, the meek one. The one with her face shoved in a book. I wasn’t the kind of sister that nagged or teased or followed him around. I was the kind of sister that always got left behind, the kind that swallowed any anger or hurt feelings because I didn’t know how to deal withthem.

“What’s wrong?” he asks, the shock on his face mingling withconcern.

“Nothing,” I mutter, shaking my head. “I’m sorry I—” Something stops me, keeping me from apologizing. I’mnotsorry I yelled. Not at all. “I don’t like thatname.”

“Okay.” He’s watching me with caution, like he has no idea what I’m going to do next. And for the first time, neither doI.

Everything in my life has been completely mapped out ahead of time. Where I would go to school, what I would study, which extra-curricular activities might look good on my transcripts. At this very moment my mother is halfway across the country trying to map out my work experience for the summer, even though it’s onlyJanuary.

No, I’m not sorry that I yelled. If anything, I want to yell some more. Because that’s the kind of thingMinniewould never do. She would never cause a scene, never upset her family. Never get too drunk or too loud or too unruly. Never have too muchfun.

She would never hook up with a guy likeLance.

I lift my chin a little bit to meet James’s eyes. My brother is tall, but I don’t feel so tiny next to him for once. Maybe it’s the heels. Or maybe it’s something else entirely. “You invited me to this party to have fun,right?”

“Uh, right,” he says, still looking at me like he’s afraid I’m going burst into tears or something. Or start clawing athim.

“Because I work too much, isn’t that what you said when youcalled?”

“You do work too much, Min—uh, Willa. You alwayshave.”

I cross my arms. “Well, tonight I’m having fun. And that includes having some drinks with my best friend like any other normal twenty-two-year-old.”

He holds my gaze for a long moment and I’m sure he’s going to argue. But then he sighs. “Fine. You’re right. You should have fun. Just be careful, okay? There are a lot of asshole guys in this room and I don’t want anything to happen toyou.”

I link my arm through Nia’s. “We can take care ofourselves.”

“Yeah,” she agrees. “Sisterhood, and allthat.”

He looks back and forth between the two of us before finally nodding. “Catch up with me later, okay? And go easy on theshots.”

“Sure thing, bigbrother.”

After he’s gone, Nia turns to me, an expression a lot like glee on her face. “That wasamazing!”

I’m feeling a little lightheaded. “Wasit?”

“Willa, you totally stood up for yourself! I’m so proud ofyou!”

You ain’t seen anything yet, I think to myself. Because tonight, for once in my life, I’m going to ignore the plan. I’m going to do what I want to do, instead of what I should do. What the girl who introduced herself to the hottest rock star in the room would do, instead of whatMinniewould do. I’m tired of hiding and planning. I’m determined, tonight, for once, to be someoneelse.

I motion to the passing waitress. I know exactly what I want to do. I’m resolved. But a little more alcohol first wouldn’thurt.